Buffalo Bills Release Ryan Fitzpatrick

The Buffalo Bills are moving in another direction now they have released QB Ryan Fitzpatrick. Over the last three seasons he has had steady numbers but didn’t really show too much in the way of leadership when the Bills needed him most. Take week 4 of last year when the 2-1 Bills were hosting the 1-2 Patriots. The Bills outplayed New England for the first 2 1/2 quarters taking a 21-7 lead. All of a sudden the offense goes ice cold as the Patriots scored 35 unanswered points to rip the heart out of the team for the season losing 52-28.

There was a jittery quarterback in the face of playing the toughest team in the AFC East and we didn’t see any leadership displayed. The play calling was abysmal as the Bills kept throwing with a quarterback that wasn’t showing confidence. As a result they kept stopping the clock instead of running CJ Spiller. The 45 point second half was the most points by a team trailing at halftime since 1950. Several times in that second half he threw interceptions that kept a tired defense on the field. He threw 4 interceptions for the game. That ripped the heart out of the team for the rest of the season. This in microcosm was the Fitzpatrick era in Buffalo.

There comes a point where you see all the potential a player can reach and it’s less than what is desired. Fitzpartrick was a capable quarterback, yet one better suited as a back-up. One not expected to be a team leader or to enter that top tier of quarterbacks ready to lead his team to the Super Bowl. At some point you have to bite the bullet and go after a better quarterback and a new direction. Similar to what fans have been screaming in Dallas about Tony Romo.

Sometime, you have to just bite the bullet. Last year, we watched Peyton Manning receive his official release from the Colts who drafted Andrew Luck. All Luck did was take a young team to the playoffs. Trust me it helped fashion this move.